Meet the Chef: Kenji Toyomoto of Red Plum

Chef Kenji Toyomoto's father was a seafood exporter. Although his dad had not worked a day as a chef, he probably knew more about fish than most chefs.

When Toyomoto was 12, the family moved from south China to Toyko, Japan. "Changing schools wasn't a problem," he said. "Chinese people pick up Japanese much faster than Americans." His favorite sports were swimming and table tennis, and he qualified for the swimming team when in high school. But the kitchen was mom's exclusive domain, and neither he nor his brother helped her prepare meals or cook. Little did they know, both would later become chefs.

By graduation time, Toyomoto had learned just enough about seafood from his dad to secure an entry-level job at a Tokyo restaurant. For the next 14 years, he worked as a kitchen and sushi chef in Tokyo, and he would still be working in Japan today if a chance visit from a trusted family friend had not taken place.

The friend, on vacation from his chef's job in New York City, told Toyomoto and his brother that with their skill-sets, they would have little trouble acquiring good positions at Manhattan's better restaurants. Toyomoto felt it was worth a try; he packed his bags, headed for New York City and hoped the friend had been right. His brother decided to stay in Tokyo.

After gathering four years of experience working in New York City restaurants, Toyomoto was ready for another challenge. With his brother-in-law Peter Chen and chef Katuya Oyama as partners, he opened Toyo Sushi—a restaurant offering traditional Japanese cuisine—in Mamaroneck in 2005.

When the space next door became available in 2007, the three partners acquired it and introduced a pan-Asian "fusion" restaurant serving Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese and other oriental food. The menu was designed to avoid overlap with the food offered at Toyo Sushi. The new restaurant, opened on December 30, 2007, was named after the red plum tree which originated in China thousands of years ago and was imported to Japan hundreds of years ago.

Red Plum menu favorites

Among the most popular of the kitchen dishes at Red Plum, according to Toyomoto, are Chilean sea bass with black bean sauce ($20), an eight-ounce filet mignon ($20) and two curry selections: red curry and spicy Thai green curry ($13 to $17). The red curry is more mellow and can be ordered with chicken, shrimp or duck; it comes with eggplant, asparagus, bell pepper and onion. The green curry choices are chicken, tofu/vegetables or jumbo shrimp. In addition to eggplant, asparagus, bell pepper and onion, the green curry is served with Shitake and Prince mushrooms. Although not mentioned on the menu, both curries are infused with coconut.

Toyomoto's personal favorite is red snapper—served whole and topped with housemade pineapple sauce, available on the regular menu but not on the take-out/delivery menu.

The sushi bar bestsellers are the Red Plum roll (spicy tuna, king crab, avocado and tempura crunch wrapped with pink seaweed), priced at $12, and the Peking Duck roll (Peking Duck, cucumber and hoisin sauce), priced at $15—this is the most expensive of the rolls offered.

Rising in popularity as an appetizer, Toyomoto said, is Ishi Taki, a japanese version of barbecue that customers cook themselves—the choices are Kobe beef, steak or chicken.

A  featured "wine of the week"  can be ordered by glass or bottle. Every two weeks, the entree and sushi bar roll and appetizer specials change. A special cocktail also changes every other week.

Red Plum is located at 251 Mamaroneck Ave., Mamaroneck. It is open seven days a week. From Monday to Saturday, it is open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is open for dinner on Monday through Thursday from 5 to 10:30 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m. Its Sunday hours are 4:30 to 10 p.m. 914-777-6888. www.redplumrestaurant.com.